On the day the new Ebola clinic in Liberia opened , ambulances waited outside . Inside the ambulances were desperately ill patients who had come for treatment but instead would be left to lie on the ground as others walked by .

The Island Clinic and its 120 Ebola treatment beds opened to fanfare Sunday afternoon , with a ceremony attended by international health officials and Liberian leaders . But the clinic , located on Bushrod Island near Monrovia , the capital , did not appear to be ready for the number of patients that quickly flooded its doors .

Some lay motionless on the floors of the ambulances outside the center , too weak to get out . They had traveled for hours after being turned away from other hospitals in the area . No one from inside the hospital arrived to offer assistance .

One man opened his eyes weakly .

`` Try to come down and walk a little , '' a worker told him .

`` I 'm too tired , '' the man said .

But he summoned his strength and got out of the ambulance -- and immediately collapsed on the ground .

A little boy tried to walk out of another ambulance , but he too collapsed .

The two lay on the rocky ground just a few feet apart . The boy was completely naked and the man was naked from the waist down -- Ebola patients often do n't wear pants because of the intense diarrhea caused by the virus .

`` Get up and go inside , '' workers told the boy . `` You 'll only get food if you go inside . ''

`` Let him rest , '' another worker said , and they agreed to let him stay where he lay .

When asked why no one from the hospital was helping them get inside , a hospital worker said staff was inside suiting up in protective gear . Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids from an infected patient .

More than 2,800 people have died over the past six months in West Africa . Five countries have reported Ebola cases , but Liberia , Guinea and Sierra Leone have carried the largest burden .

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Island Clinic is supported by the government of Liberia and the World Health Organization . When shown CNN 's video of the patients collapsing , a WHO representative was horrified , but said the patients should n't have waited until they were so sick to seek help .

`` I think the lesson here is that people come too late , '' said Peter Graaff .

But many Ebola patients do n't wait by choice -- there 's an estimated shortage of 700 Ebola beds in Monrovia alone , and patients often wander from hospital to hospital , only to be turned away .

`` I know , I know , '' said Graaff , WHO 's country representative in Liberia . `` That 's why we need to increase capacity . ''

Graaff said he would try to find out why hospital workers did n't come help the patients . He said he hopes any opening-day difficulties wo n't discourage patients from seeking help -- he does n't want them to stay home .

`` It 's shocking , '' he said . `` This is exactly what we should try to avoid in the future . It 's horrible . ''

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Island Clinic near Monrovia , Liberia , offers 120 new Ebola treatment beds

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Clinic did not appear to be ready on opening day

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Patients ended up laying on the ground , too weak to move